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Description
Plant diversity and its protection is an important topic, often presented in abstract terms to the public. The lack of broad public dialogue about food biodiversity and care for it in Bulgaria do not allow people to understand its potential and the responsibilities for its protection. The Eurobarometer (2017) shows that about 70% of Bulgarians believe that climate change is a very serious problem, 21% claim that they have personally taken steps to fight climate change but only 11% of the respondents realize that they have personal responsibility as well. It is indicative that Bulgarian citizens, including young people, still lack a sense of personal responsibility to mitigate climate change. The project aims at boosting citizens’ engagement with environmental protection and climate change through the setting up of a dispersed network of engaged partners that preserve, share and develop eco-sustainable plant resources and the relevant knowledge and attract young people, especially from and to less-developed areas with preserved biodiversity. The element linking this network is food that is a direct reflection of the place, its conditions and social and economic interrelations. By connecting academic and educational institutions with civil initiatives, the project plans to develop a science-based attitude to the use and protection of plant food diversity and awareness of the impact of our food choices on the state of ecosystems and the correlation between our daily decisions and global climate change. The project will create opportunities for dialogue and interaction between groups from the Bulgarian public that are usually worlds apart from each other (researchers, farmers, chefs, teachers, children and youth, representatives of local and national institutions).
Summary of project results
lant diversity and its protection is an important topic, often presented in abstract terms to the public. The lack of broad public dialogue about food biodiversity and care for it in Bulgaria do not allow people to understand its potential and the responsibilities for its protection. The Eurobarometer (2017) shows that about 70% of Bulgarians believe that climate change is a very serious problem, 21% claim that they have personally taken steps to fight climate change but only 11% of the respondents realize that they have personal responsibility as well. It is indicative that Bulgarian citizens, including young people, still lack a sense of personal responsibility to mitigate climate change. The project aims at boosting citizens’ engagement with environmental protection and climate change through the setting up of a dispersed network of engaged partners that preserve, share and develop eco-sustainable plant resources and the relevant knowledge and attract young people, especially from and to less-developed areas with preserved biodiversity. The element linking this network is food that is a direct reflection of the place, its conditions and social and economic interrelations. By connecting academic and educational institutions with civil initiatives, the project plans to develop a science-based attitude to the use and protection of plant food diversity and awareness of the impact of our food choices on the state of ecosystems and the correlation between our daily decisions and global climate change. The project proposal will create opportunities for dialogue and interaction between groups from the Bulgarian public that are usually worlds apart from each other (researchers, farmers, chefs, teachers, children and youth, representatives of local and national institutions). The involvement of a broad circle of participants will enable the creation of a dynamic environment for development of innovation and entrepreneurship based on environmental and social engagement and supporting adaptation to climate change.